The SFS miracle delights the Sharks and exposes the Roosters

Such was the apparent mismatch between the Sydney Roosters and the moribund Cronulla Sharks ahead of Saturday night’s game that bookies were giving the Sharks a massive 24 points start. That looked to be an act of profound conservatism when the Roosters —who barely seemed to be trying— had covered the spread by the 33rd minute. It looked like the Roosters would have no trouble racking up 50 or 60 on the Sharks, providing yet another kick in the knackers for a club that’s like a man who’s plummeting from a cliff top and, exacerbating his predicament, hitting every protruding rock on the way down.

But in a turn of events so miraculous that busloads of religious pilgrims may well have already started making their way to the Sydney Football Stadium, Cronulla —missing captain Paul Gallen, Luke Lewis and, perhaps you’ve heard, Todd Carney— stormed back to trail 24-18. They then weathered the potentially comeback-crushing disappointment of conceding the next try to ultimately rouse themselves for a moment of greatness and score two converted tries in the final eight minutes to win the game 30-28.

As much as it was an incredible comeback win for the Sharks — and who could begrudge them, and their fans, this moment of joy? — what does it say about the Roosters? So far in 2014 they been an inferior version of their 2013, premiership-winning selves. The roster has barely changed but the intensity the Roosters maintained last year —an intensity reflected in their impressive defence— has been seen only sporadically this year, and Brad Fittler said on the Sunday Footy Show that the Roosters aren’t playing for each other. Could it be that having won the premiership in 2013 the Roosters just aren’t as hungry, or are complacent? How else do you give up a 24-point lead over a team in freefall? The loss illustrates perfectly why no side has won back-to-back premierships since the Broncos in 1992-93.

A long way to go but McGregor has turned the Dragons around

St George Illawarra’s 27-24 win over the North Queensland Cowboys (who have now lost all eight of their away games this season) was not without its faults but it was yet another sign that new coach Paul McGregor has turned things around at the Dragons. Enjoying their fourth win in six since McGregor took over from Steve Price, the Dragons look more potent in attack, partly because across the park they seem to have recaptured some self-belief and desire. Suddenly the much-maligned Dragons forwards, considered to be as big and scary as Shetland ponies with ribbons in their manes, are bending their opposition’s defensive line (so far disappointing in the Red V, Joel Thompson has been particularly good of late) and proving far more resilient when defending their own line. Bad reads allowed the Cowboys to score around the Dragons on Saturday night, but the Dragons defended the centre impressively. This improvement has coincided with Benji Marshall’s continued acclimatisation and his serving up of rocks and diamonds is starting to favour the latter. Gareth Widdop, too, is reveling in the extra space created by his forwards’ rejuvenation, and the Dragons’ outside backs — such as the ever dependable and quietly brilliant Jason Nightingale — are profiting. McGregor’s team will enjoy the bye next week before a clash with Manly, one that will put their rejuvenation to the sternest of tests.

Remembering the past enriches the present

The wife of the late Reg Gasnier, Maureen Gasnier, Johnny Raper and Graeme Langlands take part in a tribute to the late Reg Gasnier. Photograph: Matt King/Getty Images

The media, most notably Fox Sports, devoted considerable time this weekend to the late Reg Gasnier, for whom a memorial ceremony was held at Kogarah Oval prior to the match between St George Illawarra and North Queensland. Perhaps it’s because Aussie Rules has more of a literary tradition than rugby league, but I’ve always felt that rugby league hasn’t done as well as Aussie Rules at bringing the stories of the past to light, something which has the added benefit of enriching the present. With all the hyperbole surrounding league, and with it the flashing lights, loud music, and scandals, it’s easy to forget that this is a game with an interesting and meaningful history — both here and in the UK — and we have much to gain by retelling it, learning from it and, when appropriate, celebrating it.

So to Fox Sports’ coverage of Reg Gasnier’s memorial ceremony from Kogarah which, among other things, showed a lot of rare footage of the ‘prince of centres’ in full flight, giving us a enticing glimpse of why he was so revered, and why he was one of the first so-called rugby league immortals. It was a delight to watch.

By sheer coincidence, I’ve been re-reading Clive James’ Unreliable Memoirs and in it James — a Kogarah lad who once hosted the NRL Footy Show — recalls he and his fellow Sydney Tech students on sports day being used for tackle-dodging training by a gun schoolboys team featuring a young Gasnier. Even then, as James recounts with typical lyricism and wit, Gasnier was ahead of the curve: “Merely to watch Gasnier run was to die a little,” writes James. “He was all knees and elbows. His feet scythed outwards as he ran, like Boadicea’s hub-caps. There seemed no way of tackling him without sustaining a compound fracture. Up and down the field he steamed while we ran at him from different angles, only to bounce off, fall stunned, or miss completely as he side-stepped. He was beautiful to watch if you weren’t among the prospective victims. The way he shifted his weight in one direction which swerving in the other was a kind of poetry. Regrettably it was also very painful to experience at close quarters.”

Forward passes a-go-go

Canterbury and Manly have developed a wonderful rivalry since Des Hasler swapped Brookvale for Bankstown, and in the seven games the clubs have played in that time the Bulldogs lead the head-to head 4-3. Despite the absence of Origin stars we witnessed another full-blooded installment on Friday night. At the Olympic Stadium, the depleted Bulldogs edged the slightly less depleted Sea Eagles 23-16, thanks in part to Hasler’s tactical ploy of playing the lorry-sized Tony Williams at halfback, thereby ensuring he got his hands on the ball often enough to test the defence with his bulk but also his surprisingly deft hands. No less impressive were James Graham and Michael Ennis, tirelessness and ‘pestiness’ personified.

Fortunately one thing that didn’t have a bearing on the game was the referee’s miss of a blatant forward pass by Tim Browne to set up Ennis’s try in the final minute of the game. It’s almost getting like rugby union, what with the number of forward passes I see let go every week (unless it's my ageing eye betraying me), but surely it’s worth considering going back to the day when the video ref had the power to rule on a forward pass when checking the legitimacy of a try. Admittedly, camera angles make it hard sometimes, but many of them look cut and dried and it’s bizarre that a video ref when adjudicating on a possible try can see an obvious forward pass in the movement but have no power to rule on it.

The draw continues to offer favours

And so the Penrith Panthers win again —26-10 against the Tigers at Leichhardt— their sixth win in their past seven games, an excellent run good enough to see them claim a share of top spot on the NRL ladder. They’ve done so, however, with a much easier draw than the two teams they are ahead of on for and against: Manly and Canterbury. Already this season Manly have played two games each against Canterbury, Sydney Roosters and Melbourne, and one against Souths. Before season’s end, Manly will play Souths for a second time, and meet Penrith the once. Canterbury, meantime, have played Manly twice, the Roosters twice, Souths and the Storm once each, and by the end of the season will play both these two latter teams again.

Penrith, by contrast, have thus far played Canterbury, Souths and the Storm only once each, and have yet to play the Roosters (and Manly). By season’s end the discrepancy won’t alter, as the Panthers will meet both the Roosters and the Rabbitohs (and Manly) just once. You might argue that Manly’s and Canterbury’s tougher run over the year will benefit them more when the stakes are raised in the semi-finals, but considering the money surrounding this sport and its sense of self-regard surely it’s time we ended the bias built in to the competition.